Lawyer rankings

Jeanette Wheeler

Work Department

Employment, Health

Position

Partner

Career

Jeanette joined Birketts in 2007. She is a Partner and heads up our Employment Team across all four offices.

Jeanette has almost 20 years of experience of advising a wide range of employers and senior executives. She particularly specialises in large scale redundancy and restructuring exercises, the TUPE implications of outsourcings, acquisitions and disposals; dealing with the exit of directors and senior executives and settlement agreements; MHPS, difficult staff disciplinary matters, whistleblowing and grievances and the Tribunal claims that can ensue. She is also particularly interested in the challenges thrown up by the need for greater gender diversity in business and is often asked to speak on this subject.

Her clients have included household names as well as charities, the NHS, smaller employers and estates.

Jeanette is committed to acting in partnership with her clients by building sustainable, long term relationships, understanding her client’s businesses and providing excellent client service and practical solutions.In April 2013 Jeanette was appointed as President of the Norfolk and Norwich Law Society.

Jeanette is a member of Birketts’ Management Board and a Director of the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership Board. She also sits on the Norwich area chamber Council.

She has previously held the post of Chair of the Norwich Business Women's Network and from 2013 to 2015 Jeanette was President of the Norfolk and Norwich Law Society.

In 2013 Jeanette was co-opted onto the BIS Business Challenge Panel, a government review of employment legislation aimed at rolling back employment law red tape on employers.

Jeanette is experienced at providing media comment and analysis and is regularly asked to speak or participate in public discussions or lectures on legal or business related topics.

She has conducted numerous public and in-house training courses on a range of HR topics receiving excellent reviews and praise for making these courses informative, interactive and always practical.

In the past Jeanette travelled extensively to the USA for speaking and business development engagements and was invited by Ernst & Young to sit on its Silicon Valley General Counsel roundtable alongside the GCs of some of the largest companies in the world.

East Anglia: Human resources

Employment

Birketts LLPÂ fields a 'pragmatic and efficient' employment practice whose âservice standards are exceptionalâ. The âvery down-to-earth,Â unflappable'Â Jeanette WheelerÂ âinstils confidenceâ and leads the firm-wide practice from Norwich. Clients recommend her for her âbreadth of knowledge and her common sense approach'. She recently assisted a client in the healthcare sector with an investigation into a senior staff member's conduct. Also in Norwich, the âvery knowledgeable,Â friendly and approachableâ Matthew NewnhamÂ is praised for hisÂ âwonderful calm demeanour and his practical advice'.Â Investigations and Employee Relations Consultant Lorna TownsendÂ leads the firmâs HR consultancy and investigations service, which focuses on employee relations.Â 'Thorough and pragmatic' associate Sam GreenhalghÂ and legal director Tom SharpeÂ are also recommended. In Cambridge, Abigail TrencherÂ is the key contact. For a UK employer, she handled TUPE matters arising from a foreign acquisition. Senior associate Katie Harris-WrightÂ is âvery personable and easy to talk to; she takes the time to understand clientsâ business'. Fellow senior associate Lottie SeabornÂ is âgreat to speak to and has a unique personal touch to her work'. ConsultantÂ Tim TyndallÂ is also recommended. Catherine JohnsonÂ Â takes the lead in Ipswich, where senior associateÂ Lisa HaywardÂ specialises in share schemes.

East Anglia: Public sector

Health

Within: Health

Birketts LLPÂ is a member of the NHS Shared Business Services framework and the NHS Commercial Alliance legal framework. It has a strong track record in the health and social care sector, particularly for employment and property work. The key contacts are legal directorÂ Erika Clarke, who leads the public sector practice, and head of healthÂ Richard Eaton. Clarke handlesÂ major capital projects, outsourcings, business-critical contracts and public procurement issues. She recently acted for an NHS foundation trust in numerous matters includingÂ the interpretation of contract terms and public law duties associated with the funding of care packages. Eaton's area of expertise is public law and judicial reviews. He recently succeeded in quashing a CQC draft report for a care home provider. Commercial property partnerÂ Chris BarkerÂ has extensive experience in trust portfolio management, andÂ Matthew NewnhamÂ handles employment law matters including tribunals for health sector clients. Also recommended are corporate finance partnerÂ Greg Allan, employment partnerÂ Jeanette WheelerÂ and head of charitiesÂ Sara Sayer.

After more than 20 years since joining the Milberg brand, under which she honed her skills and earned a solid reputation as a highly regarded and successful national litigator and business leader, Ariana J. Tadler is proud to announce the launch of her new firm, Tadler Law LLP. Ms. Tadler will be joined by talented partners, including AJ de Bartolomeo, Henry Kelston, and Melissa Clark, as well as key professional staff, whom she has known and worked with for years. Upon Ms. Tadlerâs departure from Milberg Tadler Phillips Grossman LLP (âMTPGâ), MTPG will continue as Milberg Phillips Grossman LLP ("MPG"), under Glenn Phillipsâ direction.

A recent landmark decision by the First Hall of the Civil Court has confirmed for the first time that in order for a precautionary warrant to remain in force, it must be preceded or followed (within 20 days), by a court case filed in Malta or in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Criminal liability of corporations is a
hot topic worldwide. From financial institutions to global corporations, almost
daily we hear about a large corporation being investigated, signing a Deferred
Prosecution Agreement or being convicted, usually for money laundering, tax
evasion or bribery.

MSCI Inc., a New York-based provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community, has announced that its subsidiary, MSCI Barra Suisse SĂ rl, has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Carbon Delta AG, a Swiss based environmental fintech and data analytics firm.

The UK government intends to introduce a new register of People with Significant Control over Overseas Companies, âthe PSCOC Registerâ, in order to improve transparency of beneficial ownership for foreign entities which own UK properties. The Bill will be introduced to Parliament in 2019 and is intended to become operational by 2021.

Protection of financial market investors and prevention of unlawful disclosure of inside information and financial market manipulation is provided and guaranteed by the EU Market Abuse Regulation (Regulation 596/2014) (MAR) and the Directive on criminal sanctions for insider dealing and market manipulation (Directive 2014/57/EU) (CSMAD), which collectively replace the previous Market Abuse Directive (MAD) and together is known as MAD II.